Meeting draws more than 250 attendees; concerns raised

U.S. 460

More than 250 people attended a U.S. 460 public information meeting Wednesday night in Surry — a locality not even within VDOT's proposed corridor for construction of a 55-mile toll road from Suffolk to Petersburg.

Many of the attendees huddled in small groups and pored over large highway corridor maps posted along the walls of a large room inside Surry High School. Down the hall, many more people sat in the school's auditorium where Virginia Department of Transportation officials — including Deputy Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick — presented information on the project and answered questions from the crowd.

During random queries of meeting participants, it was difficult to find anyone with unreserved support of the project's merits. A significant portion of those present appeared to be motivated by concerns whether the project would affect their own properties.

VDOT plans to construct a four-lane divided toll road adjacent to the existing U.S. 460 that is plagued by safety concerns. State officials — especially Gov. Bob McDonnell — have touted the project as a way to relieve port-based truck traffic on Interstate 64, promote economic development and create a new evacuation route for Hampton Roads residents in the case of a hurricane or other threat.

The gathering was the first public meeting held regarding the project since a flurry of recent developments that included VDOT's selection of construction consortium U.S. 460 Mobility Partners to finance, design and build the highway and the Commonwealth Transportation Board's mid-October decision to approve the nearly $1.4 billion public/private partnership deal.

Good turnout

Kilpatrick indicated he was encouraged by the quality of the dialogue. He noted VDOT has identified a preferred corridor alignment but design is just beginning and VDOT would host "dozens more" large and small public meetings as the project progresses.

"It's a fantastic turnout. Good questions," he said, in the map room as the evening wound down more than an hour after the meeting's scheduled end time. "I really like the opportunity to make folks feel comfortable about the concerns and comments they had."

Kilpatrick said broader community concerns are a part of the process of building any road project, but "a lot comes down to personal impacts."

"We're looking forward to financial close at the end of the year and moving forward with the design/build team and the community to deliver this project," he said.

But those in attendance, who answered questions regarding their opinions of the project, were decidedly less upbeat about the project's impacts.

Concerns raised

Anna Lyman, a Wakefield resident, said she came to the meeting because she was concerned a project component would directly impact family-held property in Sussex County.

"I think the (new U.S.) 460 corridor is wonderful, especially if we have an evacuation. It would be awesome for that," she said. "But living in the country, am I happy about the idea of a significant number of companies coming in? No really, but I don't know when that will happen."

Lyman described the existing highway as a "death trap" and said something had to be done one way or another. She acknowledged the project would be good for business development but at a cost to the area's cultural landscape.

"It's a hard call," she said.

Vasco Boyd, a minister and trustee of New Life Church of Hampton, in Franklin, was on hand because VDOT's proposed corridor cuts a swath through the middle of a 163-acre parcel owned by the church where a "family life center" was planned.

"It's upsetting all of our plans," Boyd said, adding that if the impacts were lessened the project would be more palatable. "We'd prefer it move east giving us more acreage on the west side of the highway."

Stephen Rosbicki, who characterized himself as a cotton, beans and wheat farmer, lives in a house within 50-feet of the project's proposed corridor. A bigger problem, he said, was that he expects the limited access roadway will bisect his fields, preventing easy access to much of his 600 acres.

"A two-minute drive with a tractor is going to turn into 40 minutes," he said. "It's all a matter of time. You try to farm as quick as you can."

Rosbicki added that improving the existing U.S. 460 would be a better and cheaper alternative.

"Everyone is looking for the perfect concept with bells and whistles. There is probably a need for it, but it doesn't help me one bit," he said. "And with this economy, it's not the time to spend large sums of cash."

A Wakefield man, who would only identify himself as "Mills," said the project represented "a lot of wasted money," and Route 58 should instead be widened to an interstate. Mills added that he believed the highway would be obsolete, in terms of handling growing traffic volume, before it is completed in 2018.